'Ugh, where... is this? My head, it hurts.'
"She's awake! Look at my finger, how many is this?"
Belle struggled to open her eyes, staring at the single finger waving back and forth in front of her. She opened her mouth and immediately spoke.
"Eight! It's just missing a stroke."
The owner of the finger stopped instantly, then turned to the man beside him, speaking in a complicated tone.
"We're doomed. Little Belle's brain has been infected by you; it's broken."
"What are you saying?! This is called two hearts beating as one! We have tacit understanding!"
"Belle, you've finally woken up."
Enduring the chaotic chatter of the people around her, Belle clutched her head and slowly sat up bit by bit. Only then did she realize she was lying on the sofa in the workspace.
"Belle, are you okay? You scared me to death."
Seeing that his sister was fully conscious, Wise finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But seeing Belle's dazed look, he checked her body again with some worry.
"I'm fine, Brother. You don't need to be so nervous."
"Don't need to be nervous? You suddenly fainted; it terrified me."
Wise briefly described the previous situation to Belle.
The more Belle listened, the more she frowned. She had an impression of the event, and there seemed to be a voice speaking in her mind at that time, but she couldn't remember a single thing about what was said.
"No need to get so agitated, you just woke up."
Twiggy was by her side, soothing Belle's emotions, hoping she wouldn't hurt her body due to stress.
"Twiggy? You guys are back."
Having regained her senses, Belle finally noticed Twiggy and Geno standing to the side.
The two looked no different than before they entered the Hollow, except for some dust and wear on their clothes.
"Hi~ Did you miss me?"
Seeing Geno acting goofy, Twiggy gave him a smack, then began to explain what had happened inside the Hollow.
She recounted everything, including the use of the memory card and how it might be related to Belle's fainting.
"As for Nicole and her team, after discovering you fainted, they hurriedly went to find a doctor. They've already seen the doctor off now. Before leaving, they didn't forget to pay our commission fee, although most of it went to medical bills and Bangboo repair fees."
Wise added the last sentence, the disappointment on his face visible to the naked eye.
This was truly a case of suffering a double loss. They had lost the [Phaethon] account and spent a large sum of Dennies. Next month, they would have to rely entirely on the video store's income.
"As long as everyone is okay, it's fine. But Belle, there is something you must know."
Wise took a sip of water, then looked at Belle mysteriously, leaving her completely bewildered.
"Fairy, are you there? The person you want has arrived."
As Wise's voice fell, all the screens and the hanging lights in the room began to flicker. Belle looked at Eous, who had spinning circles on its face on the sofa, and felt a horror movie atmosphere setting in.
Suddenly, all screens began to report errors. Immediately after, the HDD system started loading. Accompanied by a female voice laced with electronic static, a blue and white eye appeared on the screen.
[System startup complete. I am the Type III General Narrative Integrated AI, development code: Fairy. Hello, Master—]
Looking at the large eye on the screen, Belle's pupils contracted, and her small mouth parted slightly; she was obviously stunned.
"What... is going on?"
"After you fell into a coma, the HDD rebooted once, and then she was there," Wise explained from the side. Twiggy and Geno also stepped forward, looking at the strange entity with inevitable vigilance.
Whether it was the issue with that memory card or a backdoor left by White Noise, it was worth their caution.
Fortunately, this so-called Artificial Intelligence did not exhibit any aggressive behavior.
"The HDD is talking?! My computer turned into a girl?!"
That's too good... I mean, that's too scary.
Belle was first excited, but then realized the voice was somewhat familiar. It seemed to be the voice that had appeared in her mind earlier.
After that came the AI lady's self-introduction and the process of getting acquainted with everyone.
Although they still held suspicions and vigilance, this guy was indeed extremely capable. With high efficiency, she selected the most cost-effective and simple tasks from the Inter-Knot to help the siblings rebuild a smurf account.
"This work ability is truly enviable. My game company lacks an employee like you. Interested in changing jobs?"
Geno looked at Fairy processing various information efficiently and instantly felt a desire for talent, wanting to recruit Fairy to help with work.
"Where would you get the spare money to pay her wages? We don't even know what we're eating this month."
Twiggy covered her face. They had originally planned to rely on this commission to get through the month. Now it seemed they could only count on Inter-Knot events and the grocery store's revenue.
"In that case, how about we do some 'good faith mutual boosting'? After we grind the account levels up, your commission fees will also be much higher."
Hearing that Twiggy and the others were also in a tight spot this month, Belle proposed the idea of cooperation.
One side as Proxies, the other as Agents. This way, the accounts on both sides could level up at a rapid speed, allowing them to earn more commission fees faster.
"Eh? We can do that?"
Geno scratched his head. This world was still too complicated; such methods were so despicable!
But he liked it (≧∇≦)ﾉ.
"Then it's settled. Fairy can help us filter for good missions, and we'll split the commission fees fifty-fifty."
Wise was satisfied to have gained a brand-new Agent team. Originally, their activities were basically done by finding the Cunning Hares.
But looking at it now, Nicole and her team probably wouldn't have time to help this month.
After all, whether it was their old creditors or the Red Fang Gang, both were enough for them to deal with.
As for Geno, although he also went to the Red Fang Gang, he did a clean job. Everyone who needed to be sent away was sent away.
Most importantly, he ran fast.
After the matter was settled, Geno and Twiggy returned to the grocery store, while the Proxy siblings filtered through Inter-Knot commissions. Although Belle had just woken up not long ago, they still had to eat.
As for the Cunning Hares, while investigating that mysterious client, they were also dodging the Red Fang Gang's pursuit, until one day, they ran into a mysterious Cat Thirren girl...
But that is a story for later. Right now, Geno only wanted to return to his room and have a good rest.
In the back room of the grocery store, Geno lay on the sofa with no regard for his image, casually tossing his clothes aside, his two arms draped over the back of the sofa.
Twiggy, who had also been busy all day, took the lead in going to the bathroom to take a good shower.
In the living room, Geno leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, listening to the splashing sound of water from the bathroom, somewhat lost in thought.
Of course, he wasn't fantasizing about Twiggy bathing. The relationship between the two was already familiar enough to ignore such space for reverie.
What he was thinking about was something else.
'That AI's voice, I feel like...'
'I've heard it somewhere before...'
____
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